Humanistic Tradition Vol. 1 : The First Civilizations and the Classical Legacy

Summary

" The Humanistic Traditionis quite simply the finest book of its type. Fiero manages to integrate the political, cultural, and social history of the world into one coherent and fascinating whole. It is a masterpiece of scholarship . . . balanced, interesting, easy to read, and consummately beautiful. Our professors praise its accuracy and scope and our students unanimously say it is their favorite textbook." Sonia Sorrell, Pepperdine University The Humanistic Traditionfeatures a flexible, topical approach that helps students understand humankind's creative legacy as a continuum rather than as a series of isolated events. This widely acclaimed interdisciplinary survey offers a global perspective, countless illustrations, and more than 150 literary sources. Available in multiple formats, The Humanistic Traditionexplores the political, economic, and social contexts of human culture, providing a global and multicultural perspective which helps students better understand the relationship between the West and other world cultures.

Author Biography

Gloria Konig Fiero was born and raised in New York City. She earned her Masters degree in Art History at the University of California, Berkeley, and her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Humanities at the Florida State University. She has taught Humanities, World History, and Art History for more than twenty-five years. She has written and lectured extensively on medieval and renaissance topics and on the arts of both East and West as they reflect the human condition. She currently divides her time between New Orleans, Louisiana, and New York City.

Table of Contents

Preface

ix

Introduction: Prehistory and the Birth of Civilization

xiv

Prehistory

xiv

Paleolithic (``Old Stone'') Culture (ca. 7 million--10,000 B.C.E.)

xiv

Reading 1.1 The Story of Rock Picture Research

2

(8)

Neolithic (``New Stone'') Culture (ca. 8000--4000 B.C.E.)

4

(6)

The Birth of Civilization

10

(4)

The Evolution of Writing

10

(2)

Metallurgy

12

(1)

People and Nature

13

(1)

Myth and the Quest for Beginnings

13

(1)

Reading 1.2 Creation Tales

14

(3)

Glossary

15

(2)

PART ONE The First Civilizations

17

(50)

Timeline

18

(1)

Egypt: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order

19

(17)

The Gods of Ancient Egypt

19

(1)

Reading 1.3 ``The Hymn to the Aten'' (ca. 1352--1336 B.C.E.)

19

(3)

The Rulers of Ancient Egypt

22

(9)

Theocracy and the Cult of the Dead

22

(8)

Akhenaton's Reform

30

(1)

Nubia and Ancient Egypt

30

(1)

Law in Ancient Egypt

31

(1)

The Social Order

31

(1)

Egyptian Women

32

(1)

The Arts in Ancient Egypt

32

(1)

Literature

32

(1)

Reading 1.4 Egyptian Poetry

33

(2)

The Visual Arts

33

(2)

New Kingdom Temples

35

(1)

Music in Ancient Egypt

35

(1)

Summary

35

(1)

Glossary

35

(1)

Mesopotamia: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order

36

(22)

The Gods of Mesopotamia

37

(1)

Reading 1.5 From The Babylonian Creation

37

(2)

The Search for Immortality

38

(1)

Reading 1.6 From the Epic of Gilgamesh

39

(2)

The Rulers of Mesopotamia

41

(1)

The Social Order

42

(2)

Law and the Social Order in Babylon

42

(2)

Reading 1.7 From the Hammurabi's Code (ca. 1750 B.C.E.)

44

(1)

The Arts in Mesopotamia

45

(1)

The Hebrews

46

(2)

Reading 1.8a From the Hebrew Bible (Genesis)

48

(1)

Reading 1.8b From the Hebrew Bible (Exodus)

48

(2)

The Hebrew State and the Social Order

49

(1)

Reading 1.8c From the Hebrew Bible (Jeremiah)

50

(1)

The Babylonian Captivity and the Book of Job

51

(1)

Reading 1.8d From the Hebrew Bible (Job)

51

(3)

The Book of Psalms

53

(1)

Reading 1.8e From the Hebrew Bible (Psalms)

54

(1)

The Iron Age

54

(3)

The Assyrian Empire

55

(1)

The Persian Empire

56

(1)

Summary

57

(1)

Glossary

57

(1)

India and China: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order

58

(9)

Ancient India

58

(1)

Indus Valley Civilization (ca. 2700--1500 B.C.E.)

58

(2)

The Vedic Era (ca. 1500--322 B.C.E.)

58

(1)

Hindu Pantheism

59

(1)

The Bhagavad-Gita

60

(1)

Reading 1.9 From the Bhagavad-Gita

60

(1)

Ancient China

61

(4)

The Shang Dynasty (ca. 1520--1027 B.C.E.)

61

(2)

The Zhou Dynasty (1027--256 B.C.E.)

63

(1)

Spirits, Gods, and the Natural Order

63

(2)

Daoism

65

(1)

Reading 1.10 From the Dao de jing (ca. 550 B.C.E.)

65

(1)

Summary

65

(2)

Glossary

65

(2)

PART TWO The Classical Legacy

67

(104)

Timeline

68

(1)

Greece: Humanism and the Speculative Leap

69

(37)

Bronze Age Civilizations of the Aegean (ca. 3000--1200 B.C.E.)

69

(3)

Minoan Civilization (ca. 2000--1400 B.C.E.)

70

(2)

Mycenaean Civilization (ca. 1600--1200 B.C.E.)

72

(1)

The Heroic Age (ca. 1200--750 B.C.E.)

72

(2)

Reading 1.11 From the lliad (ca. 850 B.C.E.)

74

(2)

The Greek Gods

76

(1)

The Greek City-State and the Persian Wars (ca. 750--480 B.C.E.)

77

(1)

Herodotus

78

(1)

Athens and the Greek Golden Age (ca. 480--430 B.C.E.)

78

(2)

Pericles' Glorification of Athens

79

(1)

Reading 1.12 From Thucydides' Peloponnesian Wars (ca. 410 B.C.E.)

80

(3)

The Olympic Games

81

(1)

Greek Drama

81

(2)

The Individual and the Community

83

(1)

The Case of Antigone

83

(1)

Reading 1.13 From Sophocles' Antigone (ca. 440 B.C.E.)

83

(10)

Aristotle on Tragedy

93

(1)

Reading 1.14 From Aristotle's Poetics (ca. 340 B.C.E.)

93

(1)

Greek Philosophy: The Speculative Leap

94

(1)

Naturalist Philosophy: The Pre-Socratics

94

(1)

Humanist Philosophy

95

(2)

The Sophists

95

(1)

Socrates and the Quest for Virtue

95

(2)

Reading 1.15 From Plato's Crito (ca. 390 B.C.E.)

97

(2)

Plato and the Theory of Forms

98

(1)

Reading 1.16 The ``Allegory of the Cave'' from Plato's Republic (ca. 375 B.C.E.)